


Nexus

by enderhood



Category: Coco (2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cell Phones, Communication between Living and the Deads, De La Cruz being a dick, F/M, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Family Shenanigans, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hector's backstory, Letters, Miguel being a sweetheart so does Hector, My Drawings/Art for this fic, Or his 'friends' and whole family(living and dead) will come after you, Protective!Hector, Sad Miguel, Slice of Life, Soul-cial workers(I spell this on purpose for future plots), Story intensified as chapter goes, Supernatural Elements, Texting, Work inspired by multiple people and their AUs, don't touch the child, skeledad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-16
Updated: 2018-07-20
Packaged: 2019-03-05 10:45:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13386180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enderhood/pseuds/enderhood
Summary: After the unexpected journey to The Land of the Dead and memory restoration, Miguel discovered a (series of) new way to communicate with his dead family without constantly risking his life/able to keep in touch without missing each other...The work will be divided into the following list:Prologue (CHAPTER 1)Part 1: Messages from the beyond (Letter Arc) (CHAPTER 2-CHAPTER 6)IntermissionPart 2:?????EpilogueCurrently ON HIATUS





	1. Prologue

 


	2. Spark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> During the Letter Arc, these are the format of how the main characters write
> 
> Miguel: all regular words  
> Imelda: Bold, italic and a '*' every time she writes, underline to emphasize specific words/important points  
> Hector: All Italic
> 
>  
> 
> I know this chapter is kind of short, yet in the future chapters it's going to be more than this. Thank you so much for all the positive feedback and likes on the previous chapter, I have never receive this much within a day( it makes my day literally!!!). Hope you all enjoy the story and have a good day! * Characters may get OOC as I'm still trying to get them right.

Papa Hector, I’m so glad that you’re ok! An hour ago, I have tried my best to revoke Mama Coco’s memories by giving the teared off picture which I have shown you earlier and singing ‘Remember me (your original version). The first method didn’t work but the song works well and able to make her remember everything, she even told me and my whole family about your stories as well as showing letters which you wrote to her! I’m so sorry that I lost your only photo that you want me to bring to the Land of the Living, it flew off while Pepita was rescuing me, but don’t worry! It turns out Mama Coco has been keeping one of your photos hidden along with the letters, you can surely see her next year and able to cross the bridge. There are many things I want to tell you and the others, but I don’t have much idea of where to start. Since there are lots of stuff going on everyday and don’t want to overwhelm Dante, I’m going to write twice a week and organize the events into a diary format, allowing all of you to keep track with the dates and sequences (only way I can think of)

Hope you all don’t mind Dante’s constant visit and love everyone as always!

P.S Get well soon Papa Hector, looking forward for your visit next year! (Hopefully I can still see all of you)

Love,

Miguel.

 

-X-X-X-X-

 

**_Miguel,_ **

**_* I understand your passion and desire to share your life stories with everyone here, YET, it does not mean you should start breaking the laws of realm. Please keep in mind that the Livings and the Deads are NOT supposed to ‘communicate’ with each other. I don’t want you and the whole family to get into trouble…._ **

_Thank you for your kind message, mijo. As much as I want to hear about your daily stories, I’m afraid your Mama Imelda is right…_ _(Please see attached brown paper for more details)_

 

-X-X-X-X-

 

_(Have to write my notes on another piece of paper as Imelda will not be happy about this…)_

_I’m still not entirely sure about this new form of communication, yet I will not stop you from writing to us. There is a small request I would like you to help me to do: Keep me update on how my Coco is doing and take care of her. I have lost track of time ever since the moment I died, as well as lost count of how many times I have tried to cross the bridge and rejections that Imelda gave me. As long as I know that she is happy and safe, I’m more than grateful even I cannot see her personally. What you did earlier ago is more than enough and you don’t have to blame yourself for losing my photo. I’m so proud of your action and pleased to have you as my great-great grandson. Thank you for everything and just write anytime you like to me (not sure how the rest thinks, but I have a feeling that Imelda is going to burn all the letters and banish your dog from getting into the house for the sake of both living and dead family), I will try my best to reply as soon as possible ‘secretly’._

_Looking forward for your adventures and stories, hopefully my request will not be too much to ask._

 

_Papa Hector_


	3. November

1st November,2017

Papa Hector, I don’t mind including Mama Coco in my letters, in fact, she is one of the most important people in the family and one of my ‘anchors’ to keep me going chasing my dreams. Without her, I don’t know who else I can talk to without getting scold and discourage constantly beside Dante ( it doesn’t count since it probably don’t understand what I’m talking about). According to abuelita, the music ban has occurred for few generation ever since you left Mama Imelda. No one dare to disobey the rule or else they will get ‘Chanclaed’ (I have some rather bad experience on it, took me few days to ease the pain physically). Mama Coco is the only one in the family who don’t judge and will always listen, even though she doesn’t talk much, but I can always feel the warmth and support she gives me through her smile and body language. She is literally part of my life.

It’s a long time ago ever since I heard Mama Coco sings until this morning, I was like 4 the first time she sung. One time I got really sick and she hummed a song to me to make me feel better, even my memory is really vague, but I still remember the feeling and the hope it brought. Ever since then, I fell in love with music and constantly trying to contact it despite my family’s objection. She continued to sing occasionally when no one but me at home until few years ago after she turned 93, she started to become forgetful and often mixed up with names, doesn’t seem to aware where and what year she was on. Since then, the only place I can hear and play music freely is in the plaza and a hideout I set up to practice my guitar respectively while learning music through watching films from my former idol De la Cruz. Even I’m alone during these years, but with music, Dante and De La Cruz’s motivation, I managed to stay positive and determine to follow my dream, I still tell Mama Coco my ‘secrets’ even she no longer sings.

All of us are so relieved and happy to see how lively she was then usual, I have never see her smile as brightly as today. I wish Mama Coco could stay like this forever…

 

5th November,2017

It’s the second day Abuelita grounded me for the Día de Muertos runaway, time passed slower than expected and it reminds me a lot of Land Of The Dead (skipping the part where I almost got turned into a skeleton). I can’t leave the house till tomorrow. Most of my family have gone out to work/play and no one but Mama Coco in the house, Dante has sneaked into the house to join me in the ‘Time-Out-Zone’, with his company, I feel slightly less lonely (with a little annoyance, please don’t mind if my handwriting is messier than usual and some water marks on the paper, Dante was trying to get me play fetch with him for the 10th time). School started few days ago after the holiday and it is busier than I thought, I might have to minimize the frequency on the letter and change the format slightly: Instead of writing twice a week, I will combine all the interesting events happen in the month into one letter, it can at least make Dante even less stressful and I can skip all the boring stuff in life, showing the highlights. Speaking of highlights, my family (especially abuelita) didn’t seem to hold against music as much as before after seeing what I did few days ago, they started to ask me how long I have been playing and where did I learn how to play your original version of ‘Remember Me’, I indirectly told them by saying a ‘friend’ taught me, abuelita even apologized to me for breaking my guitar and promised not to do it again (long story short, she broke my guitar into pieces after she refused to let me enter a music contest and we got into an argument, this was also the reason I have to steal your guitar and got cursed in process). It’s a relieve yet unexpected turn for my family to open up for music, even I feel slightly not comfortable with the sudden change, but with given time, I’m sure my family will love it. After all, music heals and bring people together, how about you? How’s your recovery? Do you manage to resolve everything with others?

Write soon!

P.S. I have told Dante to send this letter directly to you and don’t get spot by others, hopefully it will understand what I mean…

Love,

Miguel

 

-X-X-X-X-

 

_Mijo, you don’t have to push yourself to write and reply letters in a specific time period. If you are busy, just finish what you need to do. Time does not matter too much here and I can always wait, what matters is you carry on with your life and do not let the letters affect too much. Like I said, just write anytime you want._

_While your family is undergoing some changes, we are also going through similar process. Imelda and I have sort of make amends for the past and she introduced me to the family members who I never have a chance to meet. The whole process is kind of awkward but we slowly getting to know each other: Your tia Rosita usually responsible to cook for the whole family while Imelda and the rest manage the shoe shop, my Coco has married to your papa Julio and have two daughters, one of them is your tia Victoria (there is still a lot of catch ups to do including asking them about Coco’s wedding, really wish that I can witness and attend it). Some things never change though like your two tio Felipe and Oscar, still as mischievous like before. Yet I noticed they have become more mature and grew taller, only slightly shorter than me. It is going to be a long process for me to bond with the family, but like you said, given with time, I will ‘officially’ become one shortly._

_See the box? Inside contains your red jacket that I found nearby De La Cruz’s place while everyone was helping me back home, Imelda have taken good care of it and you can wear it right away. Speaking of her, looks like I can never sneak past Imelda’s eye(sockets) despite 90+ years of conman experience. She caught me halfway through writing this letter and took me a long time to convince her, allowing us to continue (with my unfading charm, still works well especially on ladies)._

 

**_*I still do not like this idea, only allowing this because of the jacket which belongs to Miguel not because of your charm._ **

 

_(Mi Armor…I’m kind of having a conversation with mijo here…)_

 

**_*It is relevant and necessary, do not mislead him._ **

 

_(I’m just stating the fact, if it isn’t my charm, why do you allow me to continue writing this letter and not just send the jacket straight away?)_

 

_Well…I ‘totally’ just realized Imelda and I have wrote down some of our conversation here, please don’t mind it mijo, looking forward for more of your letters and pleased to know my Coco is happy… (have to end this abruptly, I think I may be in a little trouble but no worries!)_

 

_Papa Hector (ft. Mama Imelda)_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trivia: Miguel can't stop grinning after reading the letter and his family become quite concern of his sudden act. His cousin Abel later comment that he will show him some 'good stuff' once he get older and ask him to 'drop it' for now.


	4. Winter

18th December,2017  
****

Merry Christmas Papa Hector (Please wish everyone a Merry Christmas for me)! It’s the best holiday of the year where I can get a lot of presents and eat all sorts of delicious food. Most importantly, there is no school and can have a long break after one week exam. When comes to Las Posadas, hitting the piñata is my all time favorite section. Adults usually put different surprises every year and the more you hit, the bigger price you’ll get. This year however, I got pranked by my cousins and it sort of ruined my mood. Abel, a cousin who is 7 years older than me, responsible to guide me towards the piñata which tied on a tree while I was blindfolded. After I put on the eye mask, he silently instructed Rosa, my other cousin around my age to hold up the piñata to the height where I can’t reach. So I literally spent 5 minutes beating and swinging in thin air until Abel pointed out I should try and jumped up. As I followed his instruction, I heard giggling and chuckles around me, once removing the mask, I realized I have made myself like an idiota around my friends(Abel joked that I looked taller after he ‘made amends for giving 1/3 of the piñata treats to me). Since I am the youngest around my age group, my cousins usually likes to tease and prank me the most. But, this does not mean that I can’t fight back. Speaking of determination, no one seem to have beaten me yet. Día de los Santos Inocentes is coming soon, I think I might have a plan to get even in a harmless yet frustrative way >:] (this is an ‘emoji’ by the way, a way to express how I feel now,will teach you how to use it in the future)

28th December,2017

I have never been so satisfied like today: Remember the music ban rule which runs through generation? Since everyone cannot play and listen music in the house, they have a rather limited knowledge based on it. Using this as my advantage, I texted Rosa and Abel with random song lyrics I knew (texting is a form of communication we use nowadays, I will explain more later), here is the best reaction and example I can show you:

 

“ Me: What color’s the sky?

Rosa: Blue, duh?

Me: Ay Mi Armor,Ay Mi Armor!

Rosa: ???

Me: You tell me that it’s red…

Rosa: I pretty much have told you it’s blue, also why are you suddenly asking about the  sky color?

Me: Ay Mi Armor, Ay Mi Armor!

Rosa: Miguel? Are you ok…?

Me: Where should I put my shoes?

Rosa: …You have been acting weirdly these few days, did you bump your head orsomething? You keep sending me and Abel strange text and it starts to get annoying and  freaking us out…

Me: Ay Mi Armor, Ay Mi Armor. Inocente palomita que te dejaste engañar hoy por ser dia  28 en nadie debes confiar. Got you both :) :) :) ” 

 

Rosa and Abel didn’t talk to me for the whole day afterwards, it is totally worth it! Anyway, I got every single one of you some gifts (please find the presents with your name on) including Pepita! 4 of the gifts: Your gift, Pepita’s and the leather cover book, you need to read this letter first before opening them.

For your present, I found this in the market place while I was wandering around. It is called the ‘Ukelele’, a small guitar made in Hawaii( a place nearby Mexico) and it got 4 strings. Try it and please handle with extra care, it’s rather fragile.

There are 2 presents for Pepita: A laser and a catnip ball. Since it is a cat type, I think it will love them. For the laser, just press the black button on the back and point it on any object( NEVER LOOK STRAIGHT INTO IT AFTER TURN ON, IT WILL BLIND YOU), afterwards, a red dot will appear on the surface. On the other hand, the catnip ball is filled with catnip( a herb which use as medicine for human, cat for entertainment), watch the reaction and you all going to enjoy it.

Finally, the leather book is a scrapbook which took me 1 month to bind it. Inside contains some old family photos I managed to find in the house (I can only give you a copy version of them since my family is going to notice the different) and photos I have taken within these 2 months. The album can help (especially you!) to keep track how my family has been doing with drawings,remarks and memos to illustrate. I think this will aid and speed up the process while you are trying to ‘reconnect’ with everyone else.

Hope all of you enjoy and like the presents, also wish everyone a happy new year!

Love,

Miguel

 

-X-X-X-X-

 

**_*Merry Christmas Miguel, hope you like the gift we present to you. The size may not be the exact same like yours but it should fit. As a future musician, I believe you will need this as part of your costume. Good luck with your career and support you always._ **

**_Mama Imelda_ **

 

Merry Christmas! Love your drawings and paper crafts you made in school, especially the scrapbook, both of us are impressed how well made it was. Looking forward for more of your letters and photos!

Tio Felipe and Oscar

 

Thank you for taking time to make everything, they are all really pretty and well made. It’s been a while since we ever see everyone and miss them all dearly, the photos really help to make us relieve and happy. The scrapbook is beautifully crafted, Merry Christmas and see you next year.

Papa Julio, Tia Rosita and Tia Victoria.

 

-X-X-X-X-

 

_Mijo, I am truly touched by everything you have made and given, especially the scrapbook. It is a fine piece of art, from the leather cover and little trinkets which used for decorate shoes to the content inside. I have never seen photos as high quality and colorful before. Back in my days, not everyone can own a camera and photos are not as durable like yours, they can easily crack, exposed and even loss quality due to humidity. It is also really expensive to take one single photo and need to wait for a long time till the image is captured. Viewing the scrapbook is like witnessing the history of how our family and the environment grow as time pass, it helps me a lot to ‘fill up’ the gaps and learn more what have I missed. On the other hand, the ‘Ukelele’ is possibly the most tiniest and cutest guitar I have ever seen. The note it played are rather soft yet clear, reminds me a lot of the lullaby I sung every night to Coco when she was about to sleep. Thank you so much for all the thoughtful and wonderful gifts._

**_*_ ** **_The moment he opened his gift, Hector literally behaved like a child and proceed babbled about how small the guitar was while jumping excitedly._ **

_(Mi Armor please…you are making me embarrassed!)_

_Anyway, Pepita seemed to enjoy the 2 new toys it got, though I have to say that maybe a little too much. Half an hour ago, it managed to destroy 1/3 of the house as I tried out the laser toy (for a very large cat, it surprisingly agile and able to cling itself up to the ceiling like a bat) and got itself into a very weird condition after playing with the ball (it just laid down on the floor purring for 10 minutes). Despite how funny and entertaining to watch, Imelda is not impressed and she has kept the toys away from it. (I managed to snatch the laser away, too much fun to play with and who knows how handy it will be?) she appreciated the presents though._

_I am no good at shoe making yet I have helped to design the gift’s layout and picked the color. A musician always need to be presentable even just the smallest bit,since you are going to become one soon and new year is approaching, wearing something new can bring you good luck. Count this gift as a blessing and wish you a Merry Christmas and happy new year!_

_P.S The lyric prank is hilarious to see, I can imagine how mad and annoyed they look! (Perhaps I can try this sometime…)_

_Papa Hector_

 

-X-X-X-X-

 

3rd January,2018

Thank you everyone for the mariachi shoes.I LOVE it so much! Especially the bone pattern and marigold design on the upper part of the shoes. They are like an echo to Papa Hector’s guitar, even they are different objects but I can see the familiaritiesand strong links between them. I will cherish and take extra care of them (will possibly shine the shoes frequently). Speaking of shoes, today I have helped out my family to organize the shop. During the process, I have created some random tunes using equipments and shoes to ease out the stressfulness and lifted up the atmosphere with beats. I noticed some of my relatives started to bob their heads and even do a little dance as I played. This is a good sign that my family begin to brace themselves for music without discouraging me(the first time I did this in the shop, I got hit by abuelita’s chanclas after I played a song using a pair of shoes as drumstick), sooner or later, I believe they will start playing instrument and even singing, really looking forward for this day to come.

16th January,2018 

Papa Hector, I don’t know whether this is a side effect of spending too much time in the Land of The Dead or something triggered hidden powers that I might born with. About 2 months ago, I started to see ‘figures’ all around the place, looking confused or just wandering around, observing. At first I thought I was really tired and seeing things, but as time passed, those ‘figures’ become more ‘solid’ and I can start to hear them talking. There’s no way to avoid them no matter how hard I tried to ignore, today as abuelita and I took Mama Coco to the hospital for regular checkup, I found many ghost inside the waiting room, all looking either sad or desperate. One of them seemed to notice that I’m looking at her and she walked towards me asking whether I can help her to find her son. I don’t know what to do at that moment and I just quickly excused myself to go to the toilet. The ghost were different from the Land of the Dead, instead of skeleton, they all looked really ‘alive’ to me(similar to the curse I got myself into, instead of glowing in orange, they glowed in light blue/grey-ish and I can see through them,all of the eyes were glowing in white and they all got really light shade of blue on where their pupils supposed to be, it's freaky and intimidating to look at them) Is this ‘ghost seeing thing’ normal after going to the Land of the Dead? Or I’m slowly getting loco?

20th January,2018

Sometimes I will go to the plaza to practice my guitar and work on my performing skills. Ever since I started seeing ghost,I have noticed a pattern: Most ghost love to gather in ‘Death places’ like cemetery and hospital as well as ‘rather happy places’, plaza is one of their choices since mariachis and entertainers often perform there. While I was practicing my guitar, I have noticed some ghost were watching and listening to my music. As I played, few of them started to dance along and clapped their hands. Something tells me that they looked happier and not as sad like before. Afterwards, some souls began to glow in orange with a smile on their face, their body then slowly dissolved into marigold petals bit by bit and the petals got carried away by wind, later disappeared out of sight. I’m not too sure what have happened, but I’m happy to see them ‘leave’ with a smile. Do souls tend to stay in the Land of Living after they died for a specific time before they transfer to the Land Of the Dead? Have you and the others ever experience this before?

Write Soon!

Love,

Miguel

 

 

 

Here are some drawings based on the letters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *On the 28th December,it is basically 'April Fools Day' in Mexico.The sentence 'Inocente palomita que te dejaste engañar hoy por ser dia 28 en nadie debes confiar' which Miguel writes means : 'Innocent little dove that let itself be fooled, today being the 28th in no one should you trust', it is a phrase which people write/tell after pranking someone.
> 
> Plot is getting interesting....


	5. Springtime Blues

_Mijo, me and Imelda have just went to the Dept. Of Family Reunion to ask about your situation. Most clerks inside do not seem to have much clue on how to handle your condition since it is the 3rd rarest situation they have ever heard out of all the centuries. Out of curiosity, I managed to pick up some information from few clerks who were talking among themselves about the previous cases: It turns out there were some people managed to travel to the Land Of The Dead by accident like you,though their journey wasn’t as pleasant and rather rough. The first guy got ‘dragged down’ to a different Land Of The Dead(much dark and gloomy) by a corpse who unfortunately got killed while waiting for her groom in a dark forest, the poor man was trying to practise his wedding vow in the same forest where she was buried before his wedding. Unbeknown to him, the man accidentally awoken the corpse who thought he was her husband and got himself in a rather sticky situation. The second case was a bullfighter, born somewhere in 1900s, he thought his lover was dead and allowing himself to be killed, later turns out he was tricked by Xibalba (the actual god from the Land Of The Forgotten). After some trials and test, he was given another chance to be alive again. The clerks heard rumors saying the bullfighter and his love ones were the first and last group of people ever saw La Muerte and Xibalba with their own eyes and eye sockets (To be honest, I really wish that I can have such luck so I can reunite with my family while able to teach my former friend a lesson if I knew he messed up my entire life earlier). Both men in the cases eventually returned safely to the Land Of The Living while having a happy ending with their love ones._

_One of the bonus thing I learnt from the clerks while waiting for the head clerk (after numerous of ‘referrals’, he was the only one who can possibly deal with your condition) was La Muerte herself has blessed all marigold petals in the Land Of The Dead into a tool to send and guide Livings and Dead home respectively after the bullfighter’s case, avoiding anyone to walk the same rough path like him. This explain why the clerks know what to do after you showed up. Anyway, the head clerk told us the possible reason why you can see ghost is because you have spent too much time in here and ‘contact’ with death briefly, resulting you become a ‘Half-Dead’. Since you are in between life and dead, you cannot cross the bridge yet able to see and interact with spirits, it is both a curse and a blessing.The souls you see in the plaza are people who are about to pass away. Everyone has a different time length to ‘stay’ and their soul tends to wander around while their body remain behind until the time comes. Wandering souls may not recall what have happened after they arrive to Land Of The Dead, it is like a dream to them. The soul will turn orange and faded away once their body dies, this process is also called ‘The First Death’. The clerk then warned us about some soul can be quite unstable and may unintentionally cause harm around their surroundings, this has to deal with the person’s psychological state, the more emotional unbalanced the spirit is, more dangerous it can be. You have to be extra cautious around the ghosts and do not try to provoke them. Keep us update on your condition and do not hesitate to write to us if anything goes wrong._

_Support and love you as always!_

_Papa Hector_

-X-X-X-X-

 

4th February,2018

Papa Hector, thank you for the useful infos. I’ve been trying my best to keep my distance from the ghost: Avoid looking directly at them, pretending they never exist and ‘drowning’ myself in music with my earphones. Yet I can never shake the feeling of being watch and uncomfortableness. The ghosts for some reason always find their way to me and they won’t leave me alone. The more I tried to evade, the more ‘attachable’ they become and it starts to become annoying and affecting my life. I feel like I’m one of the characters in some scary movies which ghost won’t stop bothering them until they ‘listen’ and help out finishing some sort of last wish. Not saying the movie is accurate, but to avoid driving myself insane and someone getting hurt (I noticed few ghosts able to make some objects float with a swipe of their hands while I was walking on the street, one of them used this method to get my attention and almost hit me), I don’t think evading can help but only worsen the situation, perhaps I can try to understand what they want from me?

6th February,2018

I’ve managed to speak with some of the ghosts who bothered me today. It was not easy and really awkward at first, but as soon as we got warmed up a bit, they were not as intimidating like before. Through the process, most ghosts told me they have been trying to find a way to leave (they are stuck in a dying state permanently and few of them have waited almost 8 years, unable to move on) yet have no luck. Since no one able to interact and help them, many of the ghost have went insane and started to cause trouble in their surroundings. One of spirits commented that I was like a ‘beacon of hope’ which light up the atmosphere, making her feel ‘alive’ while talking to me. As I continued the conversation, I started to understand why all of them looked desperate and sad—it is very similar to the ‘Final Death’ where time seems to have slow down and people have to wait eternally while suffer painfully till their time comes. Talking to a Living like me relives them, almost make them forget they’re dying and just like having a normal conversation between two ‘friends’. After some time later, the spirits looked content and waved me a goodbye before they went somewhere else. I feel happy for every single of them…

20th February,2018 

Everything seemed to go well so far, no one has ever suspicious of my ability or ask about the constant visit of Dante, even the parcels and letters it brought (my family can be quite oblivious sometimes, no offense). Rosa and Abel enrolled themselves to attend violin and accordion class respectively while the rest of the family starting to like music even more. I started to get a grip on balancing between my normal life and consoling the dying spirits (it gets easier as I learn more about their stories, some spirits offer good advice on life and dealing with ‘uncooperative’ ghost), I feel slightly less stressful and no longer need to evade purposely, the spirits even say ‘Hola’ whenever they see me. There’s one tiny bit of problem may need your advice: How exactly do you create impactful music which can everlastingly stays in people’s mind?

I know being a true musician is to step out of someone’s shadow and able to produce original content, yet no one able to tell me exactly how, all I know is singing existing songs in my own style and I don’t feel any improvement at all. I really want to be like you but something inside me feels conflicted and unsure, please help :(

Write soon!

Love,

Miguel

 

-X-X-X-X-

 

_Mijo, while I’m glad to see you doing a good job on consoling and making friends with spirits, it is still a risky move since we do not know how long they have been in this status. In Shanty Town, everyone’s condition are similar to the ghost you described, except they do not wield supernatural power which can potentially hurt anyone. I cannot exactly relate how long you have been through with this ability or know any better ways to relieve your condition, just want to remind you to stay alert all time, if something does not feel right, leave the scenario immediately and seek help. Like I said (wrote), keep us update and we will try our best to help you, do not try to overdo yourself and deal with something you have no idea about._

_As a former musician, I do not really know how to give good advice on how to write ‘impactful’ music, what I did is write whatever came out in my mind or some specific message to share with my beloved ones. I’m still not too comfortable to say my music is great and ‘everlasting’. Back in my days, most of the time I just spent wandering around the street searching for resources and food to survive with Ernesto (it is a very rough and disastrous period, civil war in the country, no where is entirely safe and no one can help or really count on) while playing music and doing street performance to earn money for living. Me and my former friend have been doing this since I was 10 years old, Ernesto took me under his wing after finding me almost starved to death long time ago and we began to rely on each other ever since. Both of my parents died in the war when I was very young and Ernesto got abandoned by his family (he never talk about what happened), I do not know much about my past other than my first name. It was a competition against time and people, whoever able to please the most, they earned all the goods and live another day. With the years of experience and ‘battle’, I just make myself become ‘talent’ with hard work and perseverance while using some quick thinkings, observation and adaptability in the process. The best advice I can give you are observe your surroundings using everything you have got, learning from others and your mistakes: What makes their performance stands out? How would you play if you were them? Most importantly, play with your heart. You do not need to be me exactly, just play what you feel is best and imagining you are playing for someone you love, things will go smoother as the time comes and you will know what to do._

_Hopefully these will help you with your music journey, looking forward to see you become a successful musician._

_Papa Hector_

 

-X-X-X-X-

 

5th March, 2018

Good news Papa Hector! I’m going to be a big brother soon! Mama has been keeping this as a secret ever since last year and she told me the baby is going to be a girl! I can’t wait to tell her all stories about you guys and the adventure to the Land Of The Dead (she is going to be the first living person to know my ‘secrets’). Other than this, few days ago, a bunch of news reporter came to our house and asked us about you. Long story short, someone managed to find information which proof you are the original creator of the songs on the internet (a platform we use to do lots of stuff, will explain more in future) and the reporters came to clarify whether it is true. Mama Coco then told them about the letters and everything she knew about you, even allowing the reporters to read. Guess who is on today’s TV breaking news headline? The answer is ‘De La Cruz’!!! His scandal and dark history has been exposed to the world and everyone in the living is going to know his true color! You truly deserve all the credits and really glad that justice has been finally served!

15th March,2018

Things going a little insane after the exposure of my former idol, both Living and the ghosts can’t stop talking about him (I guess it’s a good thing that it kind of get their attention and make them temporarily not sad and desperate). Theories, arguments between fans, group and different kind of people…it has been more than 1 week yet the topic still popular among us. My family found it surprising that I didn’t react at all and I told them I knew this few months ago. Since you are getting popular in the Living, many people recently want to learn more about your history. My family have built a small tomb and held an exhibition for you next to our house few days ago for anyone to visit ( I will include all photos and details in the family album for this month), people found them interesting and some told us that they feel sorry about your short unfortunate life and being used by ‘De La Douche’ (people start calling him this last week, really wish they know the truth of his murderous act other than just a thief). I feel like this whole thing is like a ‘victory’ for all of us and everyone will surely remember you after this.

P.SEaster is coming, I’m going to paint the most beautiful egg and asked Dante to deliver to you, hopefully it won’t eat them in process.

Looking forward for your letters and congratulation for your long deserved respect and achievement.

Love,

Miguel 

 

-X-X-X-X-

 

**_*Miguel, I think both of the news are a little overwhelming for your Papa Hector to handle, he has frozen in place for almost 10 minutes while tears flowing unstoppably from both of his eye sockets after reading the letter._ **

 

_(Imelda please…mijo is going to tease me for weeks)_

 

**_*I’m just stating the fact (youarecutewhenyoucry)_ **

 

_(Aw…thank you Mi Armor…though it is a little embarrassing for mijo to read)_

 

**_*Nothing to see here, just ignore these lines!_ **

 

_Like Imelda mentioned, I did have a small breakdown after knowing the news and there are no words to express how happy I am. These are possibly few of the most joyful and exciting things I have ever heard after 90+ years suffering physically and psychologically. Everyone in here celebrating having a great great granddaughter soon to be born and the vanquish of my former friend (even I dislike him, still feel a little bad for referring him as ‘De La Douche’) as well as justice being served. I really wish that I can send you pictures of tonight’s dinner which Rosita cook like you did with the album, it is one of the best and biggest meal she has ever cooked. Also, we are currently building an area which contain all of your presents,letters and family albums you gave us (I will try my best to describe it to you once finished). Really looking forward to meet mija and remember to take more pictures of her after she born._

_P.S Can you help me to tell my Coco that I’m very proud of her act? Do not forget to mention I will always love and support her as always._

_Once again, thank you for everything you did for me and the family. You too, should deserve some credit since you help to recall Coco’s memory and become one of the most important keys of the exposure. You and Coco will always be the heroes in my heart._

_Papa Hector(and Mama Imelda)_

 

-X-X-X-X-

 

10th April,2018

Ever since the exposure of ‘De La Douche’, people started to vandalise his tomb while writing insults on his statue in the plaza. I have even seen my neighbors burning everything related to him. The rejection and boycott grows stronger everyday yet there are still die-hard fans defend him fiercely, including some of my classmates in my class. Today, I noticed they were trying their best to persuade everyone in school that the news is fake and denying his crime. Worst of all, after they saw me, the classmates began to taunt and bashing me for being a ‘attention seeker’ while using lots of hurtful words in the process. My teacher has punished those jerks after overheard and witnessed the entire conversation. I have a feeling that this hatred will only grow stronger and this is only a beginning…

13th April,2018

The classmates have been calling me nicknames such as ‘Shoe Boy’ and Shoe Shiner’, insulting me based on our family job by adding offensive remarks like ‘That’s why shoe shining suits you, all you do is go around and shine people’s shoes while compliment and kissing people’s ass with your filthy skills!’ I have tried my best to ignore them yet it just get worst. They have become smarter and know how to bully me when no teachers around or not looking (Teachers can’t help me outside the school, the only thing I know is leave immediately once class dismissed). I don’t understand why people can be so horrible and stupid because they can’t get over the truth of their idol being A COWARDLY BASTARD.

18th April,2018

The bullies have crossed the line by calling you a ‘Nobody’ and insult your talent during class today. I can’t take this anymore and pointed out the facts and truth while unintentionally offended their idol by calling his new nickname and it did not end well. I thought I was going to die until I noticed some ghosts nearby the classroom have witnessed the whole process and they helped me to fend off the bullies by using their supernatural force making them floated in mid-air and dropped them on the ground quickly, injuring them in progress. After this, no one wants to go near me and I am being labeled as a freak by the whole school once this accident spread. 

I messed up didn’t I ?

2nd May,2018

I miss you Papa Hector and everyone in the Land Of The Dead so much…Nobody in the school even my friends want to talk to me and just sees me as some sort of monster whenever I go near them. I have stopped going to school ever since then and locked myself in the room. My family has been trying to ask me what happened and even cheering me up, but they will never believe my story and think I am just as loco like those people say. Trouble attached to me like a magnet wherever I go, there’s no way to get rid of it. Guess our ‘victory’ didn’t last long and it cursed me instead…

5th May,2018

I no longer know what to do…music don’t help but worsen my situation, no friends, my living family never understand, the only things I have are Dante (who is not being cooperative lately after numerous of delivery), some ghost who try their best to console me after learning what happened and you guys.

Pathetic isn’t it?

Since Dante’s situation is getting worse, I am not going to send letters and parcels until it gets better, this may be the last letter for now. In the mean time, I will continue to work on the albums(as distraction) and deliver all at once along with the letters afterwards. Don’t need to worry about me, resilience is one of my strengths and I will get this over after some time.

Love you all as always,

Miguel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have to add some 'Corpse Bride' and 'The Book Of Life' reference in here since they have similar theme. 
> 
> **I will not update as frequent in the future since the story become more intense and there is a lot to cover up(More Hector's backstory and other relevant stuff in the future), as well as lots of school project to handle, please don't mind with the slow progress.
> 
> Once again, thank you for all of the positive feedbacks and kudos, hope you guys enjoy the story as it is going rather downhill.
> 
>  
> 
> QUICK UPDATE (20/2/2018): The story will be on hiatus until near early May, sorry for the hold up as the projects took me way more time than I expected. At the meantime, feel free to re-read the previous chapters or check out my tumblr for artworks.


	6. Summer Solace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm finally back(school projects took me way longer than I expected and there are some personal projects needs to deal with along the way, including the illustrations I have posted here)!!! Really sorry for the constant delay and thank you everyone for the patience. 
> 
> I have recently noticed there are few fanfics seems to pop out with similar ideas, eg Communication(using letters) between life and death, Dante acting as the 'link'/messenger between living and death). I may have overthought and don't want to sound egotistic, but it means a lot to a writer/an artist where there are works produced based on your idea with different/better interpretation, I don't think I ever found much work related to this idea until last few months. 
> 
> I'm happy(and honoured) that this fic inspires you for those who got influenced by this story. Thank you so much for reading.
> 
> Anyway, enough of ranting. This chapter is going to be Hector-centric (Miguel at the meantime trying to recover on all the shits he encountered and will not respond till next chapter...), hope you all enjoy it. :)

_Mijo, if I can cross the barrier right now, I am going to give you a big hug while teaching those bullies some manners. Since your dog is not being too cooperate(perhaps it is overwhelmed by the frequent travel between the lands? ) lately and the realm policy is strict, we have sent out Pepita to deliver some ‘gifts’ and this letter, hopefully they can help and console physically and psychologically. There is no need to worry about ‘returning’ Pepita to us just yet, it will stay until you feel better. I can fully understand how it feels to be bullied and the burden of ‘unspoken’ words, things you want to say yet knowing others will not understand. Through my years spending in the Land Of The Dead, the best advice I can give is to let it be, accidents happen and things spin out of control( eg.the ghosts’ interference) and we cannot do anything to stop it. That is why you do not have to blame yourself constantly and just learn from the mistake(s), trying to be a better and smarter person. Life is full of surprises and it is all about trying, learning and experience. I am really sure that you will get hold of yourself in no time since we are a Rivera and every one of us will not stay down for long. As for the ‘unspoken words’, I do not exactly have much to say other than being patient and wait for the right moment…_

_***I will say telling part of your adventure can ease part of your burden and their worries(enough for your family to understand what is your condition so they know how to help.)** _

_(Just like how I try to talk to your Mama Imelda, though it is not exactly the same case and the process is not easy, but at the end we settle things down. Thanks Mi armor!!! ♥)_

**_* Anyway, your Papa Hector had summarized most of the points, I only have to add 2 extra reminders, next time if anyone attempt to fight you, do not forget to use your boots to fight back when it is necessary, they are able to break a ‘Devil Box’ in the Department of Family Reunion if you hit hard enough. Lastly, for the gifts, Rosita told me that you should open her box first and be gentle, careful not to burn your hands while handle it, the rest you can open whenever you want._ **

  
I have baked you a cajeta pecan pie(one of your favourites), eat it while it's still hot and crispy. Don’t forget to brush your teeth after that or else you will get a tooth decay.

Tia Rosita

  
Miguel, since all of us can only see you once a year and not able to console you physically. So we have made a Pepita leather plushie in case you need some comfort. Your Tia Victoria and Papa Julio have helped out some of the designs and sewing process, making it cute but deadly looking like the real one. Pepita has given a ‘seal of approval’ personally by giving it a mighty purr. Anyway, hope you like it.

Tio Felipe, Oscar, Papa Julio and Tia Victoria

  
_My gifts have divided into 2 parts: A leather book with a marigold petal on the cover and a recording device(I think it is called a cassette player according to Victoria), inside the book you will find some of my best highlights I have experienced in the Land Of The Dead as well as the most exciting and craziest attempts of Flower-bridge crossing. Lastly, a lyric transcript of a special song I have written for you which you can listen with the device(when comes to technology, no one in the house but Victoria able to figure out almost effortlessly on how a specific object/machine works in a short period of time. I am so glad that she can find a way to ‘keep’ a voice in a high-quality device while helping me to record), I believe these gifts will be able to distract you from all the things you have been going through :)_

 

-X-X-X-X-

 

**_“BEYOND THE FLOWER-BRIDGE: MISADVENTURES IN THE LAND OF THE DEAD”_ **

**_Foreword_ **

_This unofficial biography will be divided into 2 main parts: The early life in the Land Of The Dead and the Flower-bridge crossing attempts. While I was planning and jotting down events which you may be interested in, I did not realize I have filled out my entire notebook until I am on the last page. From this, I knew that perhaps binding my stories into a book will be more organized and appropriate, also you can access more easily. I hope my song does not sound too bad as it’s been a while since I truly compose anything(thanks to the Ukulele you gave me with a small note telling me to “Play the moment” and it reminds me how much I miss music). Anyway… everything began at the moment I woke up in this strange place after being murdered…_

-X-X-X-X-

_“Ernesto?”_

_Instead of freaking out on my new appearance and my surroundings, all I cared that time was to find my friend and trying all sorts of ways to contact either him or Imelda. It did not end well after being informed by one of the officers from the Dept. Of Family Reunion that I can no longer interact with them and trapped in this Land till the next Día de Muertos, I had a mental breakdown and needed at least 3 people to support and console me. To add salt into the wound, since both of my parents were long dead before me and I have no picture or any memories of them, therefore I had no one to count on and had a rough start. Luckily, all of the recent deads who were similar to my case can receive 2 months cash and a small individual apartment as a starting point till they can find somewhere to settle down(all of us can only stay in our assigned apartment for maximum 3 years) I managed to find a job in a restaurant working as a part-time performer and a waiter, earning enough amount of money to support my daily needs while meeting lots of new friends in the process. Compare to the Living, the Land Of The Dead is massive and I found it more festive and fun (basically every day is Día de Muertos here). While not working, I loved to explore around and find inspiration for my music, trying my best to cope with everything while bringing joy and energy to people around for the first 21 years since my death, it was the best and happiest time in my life: living in my dream where I can share my music to the world, having a decent life and reliable income, almost carefree with the occasional feeling of homesick. My ‘golden age’ did not last long after the arrival of my former friend, what you have seen in your adventure and our showdown with him on the stage pretty much sums up his obnoxious influence to the people here._

_To sum up, he had used a bunch of excuses and lies to cover up our friendship, later just walked away with the most apathetic face I have ever seen, which until now I still remember clearly. It did not take me long to find out he has stolen my songs and used them to gain himself a group of faithful followers, who fiercely attacked anyone who offends their idol. I was the first person to get their treatment after I managed to confront him one time near his mansion, foolishly demanded answers while hoping there will be a way to settle our problems. Yet, I ended up in some dark alley where all sorts of ‘adult stuff’ and shady business occurred around the area. Worst of all, I cannot exactly recall what has happened after one guy knocked my lights out and 2 of my ribs have broken into half barely holding together. From that moment, I started to learn that this land isn’t as colourful as it seems._

_Within a few months time, my former friend’s reputation soon spread across the whole land and you can find posters, merchandise around different areas and he would perform/visit regularly in different places to ensure people to remember and even worship him, this including the restaurant I worked at. While most people were extremely excited for his appearance and honoured to have him as a VIP guest, I seemed to be the only person who was wary and resentful of his presence. That time, the manager wanted to ensure De La Cruz to have a memorable evening and he ordered every single one of us to not screw up anything or else we would lose our job. Everything was going smoothly until the performance part, where I need to perform in front of him. At first, I performed some original songs I composed days before his arrival and it was almost perfect until he decided to step on to the stage and joined me, rephrasing everything I sang and turned the whole performance into his own show. Worst of all, he used his chance to play his ‘best’ song ‘Remember Me’ and it becomes the highlight of the night. What becomes my last straw was after ‘our’ performance, he indirectly telling everyone some of our stories while half-insulting my talent, saying “We could be a great duo if you can work on your skills”. Without thinking, I just let my anger consumed me and punching him continuously until someone yanked me out of the restaurant and shut the door in front of me. Sometime later, my manager fired me straight ahead with no hesitation and told me I was forever banned from entering the restaurant. The rest of that night was kind of blurry and I cannot recall what exactly happened, only remembered I went in some bar and got myself drunk, meeting some musicians and told each other stories, one of them was asking how did I die and you knew how the rest of the ‘joke’ goes. Anyway, that day was the longest night for me._

_Since my assault on De La Cruz, I earned myself a bad reputation on the land within a week. No one wanted to hire or approached me and it took a while to find a job as a tour guide, which is still considered one of the worst jobs in here. Every day, I need to go through all of the famous landmarks in the land while explaining all sorts of rules to the newcomers, who tend to be impatient and only cared about seeing De La Cruz. Other than this, I have to maintain the atmosphere in the bus and make sure everyone was ‘having fun’, which was getting harder every round with new people from different generations. It was a low-paid boring yet frustrative job to do as people become more challengeable to handle: refused to listen and blamed you after they did something really stupid/ got hurt in the process. At some point, I have given up reason with them and just go with the flow, keeping all the ‘boring stuff’ short while focused on what they like to hear. This process has been repeated for 30+ years until one day, my bones started to become yellow and loosened._

_Like the Livings, whoever started to show signs of ‘weakness’ in here will literally get sent to oblivion(Shantytown), it’s basically survival of the fittest and really depends on luck. Once become ‘forgotten’, you will instantly become an outcast and no one wants to employ or offer a house/apartment even you have enough money (many landlords here wanted to keep their business going without dealing any consequences ‘left behind’). In my case, I have tried so hard to maintain my appearance by applying flour on my body and used tape to hold on my loosen parts, yet it went wrong one time I tried to show a trick I learnt based on my condition to ease out the tension in the bus, few of my body parts fell off in process and scared off half of the newcomers. I ended up jobless again and got kicked out of my rented apartment after my landlord discovered my status on the same day. Without any choices, I have to accept both of my employer and landlord’s salary in lieu of notice and rent in lieu of notice respectively, later exiled myself to Shantytown._

_Shantytown has changed a lot during the past 20 years, what you have seen a few months ago was the ‘best’ living condition for most people. The first day I arrived, it was literally a giant landfill with rubbish, junks and resources. Since the place located at the bottom edge of the land, most wastes was come from above/ dumped by rubbish trucks, the residents relied heavily on what they found to survive and built houses. As a new guy in town, most people were either too busy with themselves or just too depressed to care, only few of the older soul  were nice enough to welcome me and explain everything I need to know about this area, Chicharron was one of the people to offer me help. According to the elders, I am one of the least expected people to show up here. Many residents tend to be old people and children, mainly got ‘forgotten’ by their family and friends, seeing guys like me left them in shocked and felt bad instantly. Since none of us knew I got murdered back then, we had quickly moved on and focused on things more urgent: Finding a place to settle down, ways to sustain my life and plans for the future. It took me a while to find materials to build a house, luckily with my new friend's help, I managed to build a decent temporary house with cardboard and some wood planks near the entrance of the main plaza area._

_Compared to the city folks, the residents are generally more realistic and bitter(even now), have a habit to complain almost everything. Yet as I spent more time with them, they can be the most sincere and kind-hearted people I have ever met, especially the ‘kids’, who taught and gave me another perspective of the land based on their experiences. Unlike adults, kids who died young without any family present will be sent straight to the daycare centre/orphanage until their loved ones arrived. During the process, many of them started to show signs of ‘forgotten’ and their caretakers began to give them a bipolar response: At first being excessively nice and careful, thinking most ‘Forgottens’ were really fragile and need ‘special treatment’, in a second, their attitude changed 180∘, neglecting most of their needs and punished them for no reason. On the other hand, most normal kids would avoid or bully them almost every day, even playing some sort of games which aimed to humiliate the ‘Forgottens’ in a harsh way. As years passed, Final Death has claimed few of the children’s soul using minimum 3 years time. Those who currently living in the area were the lucky ones able to find a way to escape, while many of them ‘died’ in the orphanage or on their way to Shantytown._

_It took me a while to decide my new career being a con-man and part-time illegal vendor, as well as whether I should help my new found ‘family’ after hearing most of their stories. In the end, I have managed to make a balance between survival and morality: Using half of my money to make everyone’s life better by buying tools and materials to renovate Shantytown(it was my home after all and I cannot stand such terrible living condition) and provided most people things which made them happy:Tequila for adults, colour pencils and toys for kids. As you have witnessed, the more yellow and fragile your bones, the closer your deadline arrived and you literally cannot lift a bone or talk in full sentence properly. Seeing 80% of the residents suffered in the process made me feel selfish by keeping all the money myself, plus I was more or less suffered the same fate as them. Within 20 years, I managed to persuade some residents to help clear out all the rubbish and build everyone a small apartment to live in using everything we had, while I continued to use the money I have earned to buy blankets, pillow and daily products for those in need(even we do not necessarily eat, drink or able to feel cold/hot, yet the products able to improve the residents’ mood and living condition). My illegal business of selling re-usable landfill junks/gears has occurred for few years but it soon forcefully being shut down by the police after they found out my spot, yet it did not stop me until I realized my time has come._

  
_I become not as active and selfless as I put more attention on my bridge crossing attempts while selling my valuables including my mariachi suit(I decided to keep the bow as a memento to remind myself who am I) to produce as much money for myself to buy materials. In between, I had paid Imelda numerous of visit despite how much she hates to see me back then, joining the kids to beautify Shantytown by drawing pictures around and singing/chatting with the folks who were about to pass away. Even just a short period of breaks, they made me less stressful and improve my mood to face all challenges ahead, which I will list out 5 of the craziest and rather interesting trick I had pulled out during my suicidal and rather offensive attempts through the years._

 

-X-X-X-X-

 

_ **#5 Petals are NOT water** _

_Before doing any crazy attempts, I have managed to sneak passed the securities and tested out the water as soon as Día de Muertos started. The moment I stepped onto the petals, they opened up like a giant hole and caused me sunk down until the flowers reached my eyesockets level. The more I struggled, the harder I could get out like quicksand. Based on this experience, I had come out few ideas: Getting myself some diving equipments and tried to swim towards the barrier, making a pair of skiing boards using wooden planks, building a chariot while asking Chicharron to borrow his femur and a lasso(he was one of the few people who were nice enough to help me after I ran out of money and still consider me as a friend), later getting myself a dog and donkey alebrije and trained both of them to help me get across using the tools and materials I got. Yet they all just ended up in disaster and I almost got myself killed one time I ran out of carrots, the donkey got mad and kicked me near the edge of the bridge, I ended up in a cell after the securities saved me and dealing with the mess I created._

_ **#4 Bishop** _

_Remember I used to be a waiter before I got permanently banned from the restaurant? Back then, we need to learn different ways to fold a napkin and one of them was called the ‘Bishop's Hat’. Based on this, I ‘borrowed’ a napkin and folded it to a bishop hat and wore it as a hat, later got myself a blanket and some accessories from a play nearby my former friend’s mansion. That time, it was my first disguise and I was still trying to figure out my best approach. The moment I reached to the security check, they quickly recognised me and I instantly become the spotlight of the area after all of them let out a roar of laughter and series of mockeries. There were few real bishops got offended by my costume and asked me to remove immediately after I shamelessly walked away from the crowds(once you get used to insults and mockeries, nothing matters anymore), planning for another way to get across._

_**#3 Reaching the sky** _

_All of us become rather easy to be picked and lifted up once we are dead. Even holding one single balloon, there is a chance you will float due to our skeletal bone structure. Based on this, I had come up with an idea of using balloons to float across the bridge(technically, I got inspired one time I walked passed a house, an owner tied couple of balloons on the back of a dog alebrije and filmed it floated with a camera, I was kind of curious whether this would work back then and decided to test it while borrowed the wind force to move forward using a blanket. The moment I kicked off my ‘brick shoes’ which made to ground myself and leapt off the edge of the tallest building near the bridge, next second, the balloons pulled me upwards without stopping while the wind sent me further away from my destination by blowing the opposite direction I wanted. Without any choices, I popped down the balloons one by one and slowly made my way to the ground as my last ditch effort. Even though I have failed, yet this had become an inspiration for my craziest attempt which I will list out later._

**_#2 Extinguished hope_ **

_If I have to list out all the best invention which I have come across, fire-extinguisher is one of the items I will put on my list. Not only it put out fires, the container itself proved to be quite explosive and able to use as a launcher with the right amount of shakes, though I have to admit it was quite heavy and tricky to operate. Anyway, I managed to tied the container under a mini fridge with some ropes and launched myself forward for few seconds, but it soon spun out of control and knocking few people out like bowling pins in the process. Before I can make it to half of the bridge, the extinguisher ran out of ‘fuel’ and caused me crashed onto the ground hardly. After I regrouped my fallen parts(including my body and scraps of remaining materials, the container somehow able to launch forward and bounced its way till it reached near the barrier. I remember back then, my non-existed heart sank and I almost tore my hat off. After all, it was one of the furthest distance I can go and the closest I can get to reunite with Coco._

  
**_#1 Flying Squirrel_ **

_Out of all attempts, this probably required the most preparation time to plan and execute. Based on my tour guide experiences, I had memorized most transportation routes like the back of my hand, including the ‘Sky-tram’ which we used to travel to the plaza and performed ‘Un-Poco-Loco’ together a few months ago. Since the tram was connected to various places with magic and wires, I can basically choose the route closest to the bridge and slide my way to it using the method of zipline. Unlike the extinguisher, the path was way more dangerous and required precise calculation to execute, so I have prepared myself a homemade flying suit which allowed me to glide for a short period of time and a parachute just in case of emergency. It took me some time to test and picked out the best tool to help, in the end, I decided a clothes hanger made of steel. To sum up my entire process, I managed to find the tallest building which located near the bridge and had tram wires steep enough for me to use as a boost, later used the modified hanger to slide my way down between the intersected network(occasionally I have to ‘jump’ between wires to dodge between trams). Once reached the end of the line, I deployed my flying suit and glided forward. As I got closer to the Land of Living, I can feel tears running down my cheekbones and I was laughing like a maniac that time, screaming things like “I DID IT” and gave the loudest gritto you have ever heard. The greatest day soon turned sour the moment I hit the barrier, my face twisted in confusion and pain while falling into the giant flower pit. I felt like a moth being attached to lights, once I connected to the invisible wall, it literally ‘zapped’ and knocked me backwards. Powerless and almost weightless, even when the securities arrived and fetched me back to the land. I had not protested or attempt to escape in the progress. Not because the zap had stunned or hurt me, but I was too broken to care back then. Later that day, I have earned myself a new title—‘The Flying Nutter’ and broke the land’s record of being the 1st Forgotten to made it to the barrier._

 

-X-X-X-X-

 

_Life and Death are like the composer of a song and each event are present in the form of music note, even with my rather misfortunate and melancholy ‘song’, I am still able to find something hopeful within. Afterall, everything is just part of who I am right now. With my new found FUERZA(which by the way is the new song’s title), no matter how hard the challenges can be, I do not have to face it alone and this time I have someone to always count on…_

 

 

**_My Familia._ **

 

 

 

BONUS: Some illustrations for this fic

__

**Tour Guide Hector**

**__ **

**Hector's Flower bridge attempts**

**Hector and the orphans**

**Miguel and his gifts(along with his alebrijes)**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Coming up next: Intermission 
> 
> * I have no idea how to write a song/lyric(not a music major), so I didn't include Hector's song in here (will reveal the content in the next chapter)
> 
> This Arc has come to an end, things will get more lighthearted in the future and the angst is only temporarily. :)
> 
> P.S. Since there are some personal projects still needs to deal with, I won't be able to update the story frequently and there may be a hiatus in process. Yet, I will try my best to keep you guys updated.
> 
> Feel free to bookmark this story to get updates and learn about the story status(I will post them on the summary section)


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